The Pokemon Shape Shifter
by RoseblossomWarrior
Summary: I am nameless. You don't need a name, when you wander the wilds of Hoenn. I am a girl of thirteen years, an I can shapeshift into any pokemon I want. One day, my life changes dramatically. This is my story, of adventure, hurt, and learning to trust.
1. Change

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon!**

**This story is completely fictional. Any made-up characters that have the same name as you character is completely accidental.**

**The Pokemon Shape shifter**

**One: Change**

I opened my eyes to the rosy dawn. I stretched, pulling my arms above my head. I loved waking up in human form; it felt the best way to stretch and wake up. I lifted my head off my pillow of leaves and studied my surroundings. I was in a grassy clearing, surrounded on all sides by trees, which had a few Tailows sitting on the branches. I was glad it was summer; I hated being cold.

I sat up, wondering what pokemon I should become today. Now that I was well-rested I could become almost anything, but I was still hungry. I curled myself into a ball and closed my eyes, concentrating. I didn't have to do this every time I wanted to shift; I did it only because it was the way I could shift without encountering any difficulties. When I opened my eyes, my sight was sharper. I flexed my four legs; stretched my neck. I looked down at my white paws, with the red claws. That was the only thing I hated about shape shifting. Apparently, I can only shape into a shiny pokemon; I cannot blend into my surroundings with the greatest of ease.

Immediately, my mind was filled with horrible thoughts. Fires, earthquakes, sickness; it was a good thing all of those things appeared to be happening in a few years, not a few seconds. Being Absol was hard; your thoughts were almost never completely clear of disaster. But being Absol, I could always tell if danger was approaching. It came in very handy.

I sniffed the air. Many different aromas filled my nostrils. Berries, other pokemon, and . . . death. That was another thing I hated about having super-sharp senses. You found out things that you did not want to know. By the smell of it, it was a dead Wurmple. I snickered in spite of myself. At least it died to feed a Tailow.

I stiffened. Something was wrong. I sniffed the air again, and I picked up the scent: A human. _No!_I couldn't let this human see me. I had to hide. It was near. I was about to shift into a Tailow when a scene flashed in my mind.

_A boy of about thirteen or fourteen years was walking along a dis-used path. He didn't know exactly where it lead, but he knew it was in the general direction of Lillycove City. The boy was tan, had dark hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a red tee-shirt, dark red sweat-shirt, and jeans. A basic red backpack completed the traveler's outfit. On his belt were six pokeballs, although one or two appeared to be empty. He peered through the trees ahead, and started running when he saw a break in them. He ran between the trees and out into the open. Suddenly,there was no ground beneath his feet; only air. The boy plummeted through the air, and landed in the ocean with a splash. The waves crashed against the cliffs, starting to stain red. . ._

I was frozen where I crouched. I could not let this boy die, but I could not let him see me. I was scared; I didn't know what to do. I knew where the cliff was; it was only a quarter of a mile away. And the vision. . . I only ever got visions as clear as that if the scene would be taking place that very day. I had to. . . do what? Save myself, or the life of a stranger?

Before I knew what I was doing I was running, faster than I had ever run as Absol. I swerved through the trees, jumped over logs, blasted through bracken. Ahead of me, I heard a rustling, as if something were hurrying like I was. I pushed myself harder, dug my claws deeper into the earth to quicken my pace. I saw the figure now; it was running perpendicular (**a/n perpendicular means like a right angle) **with my course. I weaved around one more tree and time seemed to stand almost still.

The boy was in front of me, directly. There was joy on his face; he was almost at the end of his journey. He didn't see me. He only saw the light at the end of the forest.

I jumped, pushing him to the ground before he could go a step farther. I growled a warning at him as I held him down.

The boy stared up at me, his blue eyes wide with alarm. Fear scent came off of him in waves, and, to my disgust, it smelled like he just peed himself. I backed off him, and sure enough, there was a _huge_ wet stain on his pants. I jerked my head for him to follow me. Once he was up, after about five minutes, he warily followed me as I padded to the cliff he almost fell off of.

The boy's eyes, again, were wide with alarm as he took in the distance between the edge and the sea. He looked at me, and his eyes filled with gratitude.

"Thank you." His voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Your welcome," I growled, but of course, he didn't know what I said; I spoke in pokespeak.

I turned away, but the next thing I knew, my vision was fading. _I _was fading, in a red light. _No! No! Stupid boy! _Next thing I knew, I was suspended in a pokeball. I struggled, I squirmed. But I couldn't fight this. It was already too late.

_My life has completely changed._

* * *

**a/n Do you like? Please, please review! I would like to know if this is a good story or not, and if you want me to keep going. Plus, this is my first story speaking in first person. Can you tell me how I did?**


	2. My New Life

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon!**

**Any relation of names of made up characters to your character or a real person's name is accidental.**

**a/n I forgot to mention in the last chapter, that the main character, our shape shifter, cannot become a legendary pokemon. Also, when she is in human form, she's always wearing an old tee shirt and jeans.**

**I'll admit, I based Thief off of Grovyle the Thief**

**Two: My New "Life"**

I hung, suspended in the pokeball. It seem like I was stuck in there forever, although it was actually just a few minutes, enough time for my new "trainer" to find a good spot to rest. I emerged from my pokeball in a flash of red light. After I was out, a series of flashes - five in all - took the forms of pokemon beside me on the forest floor.

The first was a green lizard-like pokemon, with a red belly. It had leaves on its arms and legs, and one on the top of its head. I recognized it as a Grovyle.

The second took the form of what looked like a graceful woman wearing a white and green gown. Gardevoir.

The third was a bird pokemon. It was silver, with red sword-like feathers sprouting from its wings. Skarmory.

The fourth was short and round, with large ears. Its belly had a white pattern on it, and it had a tail with what looked like a rubber ball on the end. Azumarill.

The fifth was short, yellow, had pointy ears, and a lighning-bolt tail. _Oh, no, _I thought. _Not this pokemon, not one that __everyone__ has! _Pikachu.

My muscles tensed, and I prepared for an escapade. But, it was no use. Skarmorys were incredibly fast fliers; Gardevoirs could teleport; Grovyles were extremely agile as well as Pikachu; and the Azumarill. . . well. . . could just sit on me, I guess.

Instead of running, I sat and narrowed my eyes at my new "trainer." I _hated _trainers. I hated battling altogether. I hated confinement! I have no good memories for the things I hate.

The boy broke off my train of thought. "Everyone, this is my new pokemon. She's an Absol."

_At least he doesn't call me an "it."_

The other pokemon looked at me. They knew I was different. Not just because instead of where black should be on my body, I had red. Every pokemon that met me knew I was different. I acted different, I smelled different; all because of the chemicals, the concoctions, the _formulas. _The pokemon started to speak to me in pokespeak.

"Welcome," said the Grovyle. "I'm called Thief. This is Lady, Knight, Rubber, and Lightning." He pointed to the Gardevoir, Skarmory, Azumarill, and Pikachu in turn. "Our trainer is Zach. He'll probably give you a nickname."

_Oh, no _I repeated in my head. _Just what I want. A nickname. Probably something like "Project, Experiment, Weirdo, or Freak." _

I turned to the boy, Zach, who appeared to be in thought. I snickered inwardly at the thought that his brain might blow up with the effort. But Zach must not be as dumb as I thought, as he made no faces of pain when he thought, he just stared at me. I hoped he would give me a good nickname. Not that I would stay with this freak-show.

"I think. . ." Zach began. "I think I'll name you Soul."

I stared at him. _Soul._ That name better not be from the "sol" part of my name. That would certainly be unoriginal.

"Okay, guys," Zach continued."Today we're going to take a break from traveling. Now, you guys go and find a good place to rest, while I . . . clean up." All of us pokemon, except Lady, snickered at the wet spot on Zach's pants.

I turned away, scanning my gaze for a good "resting" spot. Of course, I could never run away in this situation, but I was sure that when everyone was asleep, I'd just shift into my human form or a tiny, unnoticeable pokemon. Suddenly, as I was looking, there was a purple light in front of my face, and a second later Lady appeared. The Gardevoir glared down at me, hatred in her eyes.

"I could have saved him, you know." By _him, _she must have meant Zach."I knew what was about to happen. You didn't have to come."

"How was I supposed to know?" I retorted. I could tell that Lady and I probably would never get along. Of course, not that I would stay. "Being an Absol is hard, if you must know. We hardly ever have our minds clear of incoming disaster. What was I supposed to do? Clean up afterwards?"

She glared at me, and she started to glow with her psychic aura. It didn't scare me; I was a dark type at the moment, completely immune. Even though I was at a lower level than her, I could definitely beat her. But, before we broke out in a brawl, Thief stepped in between us.

"Calm down!" he ordered. "It doesn't matter who saved who, it only matters that Zach's not dead." Apparently, he had been listening to our conversation. I glanced over to the right, and there sat Knight, Rubber and Lightning. Although, Rubber seemed to be studying his tail intently, and seemed oblivious to us.

I glared at Thief. Of all of them, he seemed to be a leader. He seemed to radiate with authority, and I immediately respected him, although I disliked him, like I disliked all of them. "Yeah, good thing I was here. But I'm _not _staying. I'm a wild pokemon, and I always will be."

Lightning bounced up to me. "You don't smell right. You smell like a human, and like other pokemon. But you also smell like. . ." He put a thoughtful look on his face. "Like chemicals." He stared at me.

Knight walked over too us, peering at me. "Why would a wild pokemon smell like humans and chemicals?"

I looked away and ignored their question. I would _not _tell them how I acquired my shifting powers. Nor would I tell them that I had powers in the first place. I changed the subject. "Let's go look for a place to rest." I started walking in a random direction, away from the cliff.

Rubber, who had stopped staring at his tail, bounced up to Thief. "Hungry!" he moaned.

"Don't worry," Theif answered. "Zach will feed us once we find a place to rest."

"But I hungry!" Rubber protested. He started crying.

I sighed and closed my eyes. _Great. A stupid pokemon, who won't stop complaining. _I opened my eyes and looked for the familiar shape of a berry plant. As luck would have it, there was a Pecha plant not ten feet in front of me. I pulled on off and tossed it at the Azumarill.

"Ow!" exclaimed Rubber as the Pecha berry bonced lightly off him. He stared at it on the ground. I blinked, and the next second it was gone. It didn't even look like Rubber moved to pick it up!

* * *

That night, after we had found a place to sleep, Zach let us stay outside of our pokeballs. Unfortunately, that meant having to listen to Rubber's snoring. But that didn't seem to bother the others. Zach fell right asleep, with Thief and Lady curled next to him. Rubber was laying beside Zach's feet, while Lightning layed on top of the boy. Knight sat in a nearby tree; to my surprise he didn't snore as loudly as the others. I always thought steel types' snores sounded like creaky, rusty armor.

As soon as everyone else was asleep, I curled into a tight ball, and closed my eyes to concentrate. When I opened my eyes, my vision was still sharp. _Huh, _I thought. This happened sometimes. I would try to change into my human form, but end up becoming another pokemon. But as I was about to stretch, my mind filled with images of fires, earthquakes, and sickness. I was still Absol.

I closed my eyes again, and when I opened them my vision was, again, still sharp. The images of disaster were still in my mind, but even that didn't compare to the panic that was rising in my throat. I couldn't change back to my human form. I tried one more time, but to no avail. I tried again to become a different pokemon, but even that didn't work. I could feel beads of sweat all over my body, soaking my fur. _I can't shift. What's wrong? This has never happened before!_

For the rest of the night, I tried again and again to shift, but nothing happened. Never once did the thought occur to me that I should just get up and run away. I didn't get any sleep that terrifying night.

**a/n Oh, no! Soul can't shift! What will she do? Please remember to review - it makes me write faster!**


	3. Why We Journey

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon!**

**a/n I just noticed after I posted my last chapter, that, completely accidentally, 1) Zach wears the color red 2) Thief has a red belly 3) Lady has that red horn 4) Knight has red wings 5) The inside of Rubber's ears are red 6) Lightning has red cheeks and 7) Soul, being a shiny, is red. Matching colors! Yay!**

**Three: Why We Journey**

I opened my eyes one more time, to see, yet again, the sharpness of a pokemon's vision. And my mind was still filled with disastrous thoughts. I was still Soul, the Absol. After an entire night of trying to shift, nothing. I was stuck.

It was another rosy dawn, so much like my _normal _yesterday, that I almost cried. In fact, the only thing that kept me from crying was a loud, rusty, grating sound. _Koookakooodleedooo!_

I flinched at the sound. _Oh, Arceus! Was that Knight?_Last night, because the Skarmory didn't snore, I thought he was a quiet pokemon. Mew, was I wrong.

I watched as my "companions" got up. They didn't even seem disturbed by Knight's wake-up call. Zach got out of his sleeping bag; Thief rose, stretched, and smoothed the leaves on his arms; Lady, like Thief, smoothed her "dress"; Lightning, who had jumped off of Zach, was rolling around in the dirt; Rubber bolted awake, and attacked his tail like it was a Seviper. I glanced at Knight, and quickly averted my eyes. The morning sunlight gleamed strongly off his wings, which had blinded me.

I stayed where I was, lying on the ground. My fur was caked in dried sweat and dirt, and I was exhausted. I was so quiet that no one else noticed me until they had packed up everything; the sleeping bag, the food. Zach turned to look at me when they were finished. He gasped.

"Soul, what happened to you last night?" He swiftly walked over to me and knelt beside me. I was aware of Lady's eyes boring into me.

Zach put his hand on my flank, and I shied away from his touch. He turned to Rubber, who was now drooling on his tail. "Rubber, clean Soul off with water gun," he ordered.

The Azumaril quickly forgot about his tail and hopped over to us. He gently let out a water gun attack that cleaned my fur off and made me feel more awake.

"Thanks," I grunted, but Rubber was already locked in a brawl with his tail again.

Zach looked at me again, his eyes filled with concern. "I think you should take a good long rest in your pokeball."

He started to reach for his pocket, but I was already halfway across the clearing. I was _not _going to be trapped inside that again, not now, not _ever._

Zach and the other pokemon stared at me, even Rubber. Thief came over to me, and looked at me closely. I backed away from him, a little wary. Thief turned to Zach, and shook his head. Zach pulled his hand out of his pocket and looked at me curiously. Then the boy took four pokeballs out and called in Knight, Lady, Lightning, and Rubber, leaving me and Thief out of our pokeballs.

"Now, Thief," he said, "make sure that Soul doesn't trip up in the forest. You're in charge of her, while I navigate."

Zach pulled out a pokenav, and squinted at the tiny screen, which I suspected had a map on it. _He'll never find his way like that._I could easily find our way to Lilycove City, but I decided not to help. One of the reasons was that I could find my way better was if I was a bird pokemon, but since I couldn't shift. . .

I felt useless as I limped along after Zach, with Thief bringing up the rear. I was barely aware of my surroundings as I blundered through the undergrowth. Once, I tripped, but before I fell, Thief reached out his arm and caught me. I glared at him. "Thanks."

"Your welcome." Thief smirked. "If you want, I can clear the path for you."

I growled. "I don't need my path cleared for me. I'm not a helpless infant."

"I didn't say you were."

I glared at him, and decided to change the subject. "Why are we heading for Lilycove City?"

Thief glanced at Zach before he answered. "Zach's a coordinator. The only place that holds contests is in Lilycove. Plus, Zach wants to visit an old friend, Sarah. I've never met her, but I think she's eighteen."

I smirked. "And does Zach like this Sarah?"

Thief laughed a little. "No, I don't think so."

We walked in silence for a while. My mind was still numb with tiredness, but my thoughts were still working, as was my sarcasm. _Great. I'm gonna be a contest pokemon! Yay!_

We walked until about sunset. By then, we were just emerging from the trees, me on my last reserves. Arceus, was I tired! When Zach told us to stop, I gladly plopped down on the ground, and laid my head down. I was just falling asleep when Zach let out a loud shout.

"Yes! We're almost there, I can see it!"

I opened my eyes. We were on a grassy hill, overlooking Route 121. And, sure enough, past the fenced in route (I wondered why they would waste fences on a_ Route_) was Lilycove City. The last thing I saw before I went unconscious was Zach and Thief's gleeful faces as they inspected the landscape.

**a/n Well, that took me a while to write! Remember, press the button that says review!**


	4. Entering Lilycove City

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon!**

**a/n This is my last update before I go on vacation. Details on my profile.**

**Chapter Four: Entering Lilycove City**

_All around me were men in black uniforms, a blazon red symbol on their chests. I tried to scream, but a hand reached out and muffled me. I felt a sharp pain in my arm, and I went limp. I was barely aware as they lifted me off of my bed and bound me in tight rope._

_The next thing I knew, I was lying on a hard medical examination table, my arms and legs bound down. I squirmed and whimpered, and at once there was a face above me. It was a woman's face; kind, and caring. She patted me and soothed me. I couldn't understand what she said, but I was sure she was assuring me nothing was wrong. I drifted back into blackness._

_I opened my eyes to see that the woman was gone. Instead, I could see hard-faced men as they worked with something I couldn't see. I was aware of tubes coming out of my skin; I didn't understand, but I was so afraid. I tried to scream, but my throat was so dry and unused it sounded like an elongated gasp. The men reacted, still with hard faces, and I felt another sharp pain in my arm._

_When I was aware again, I could tell a long time had passed. Years, maybe, as if I had slept through all that time. But I knew I hadn't; my memories were just being suppressed by my subconscious. I could somehow tell this was a dream now, although I was too disoriented to wake up. I was bound in chains this time, and I could tell I was not human this time, although I couldn't tell what I was. Suddenly, there was a loud noise that I could definitely identify from my memories. An explosion._

I bolted upright, my fur once again drenched in sweat. I was breathing hard; my lungs taking in as much air as possible. _It was just a dream. . . Just a dream._

But it had seemed so real, as if it had just happened to me yesterday, instead of all those years. I looked around; it was before dawn, still dark. Zach, Thief, and all the other pokemon were still asleep. I shivered, and curled up into a ball and closed my eyes.

I opened them, still to see and feel as an Absol. I tried again, and again one more time; nothing. Just nothing. I couldn't shift at all anymore. I stretched out of my ball and laid my head on my forepaws, and let out a sigh. What was the use of trying if I was just going to fail? My previous life as a wild pokemon shifter was over. The only thing special about me was that I was a shiny, but even that meant nothing. I was just a plain old trainer's pokemon.

* * *

Later that day, we were walking the last stretch of Route 121. Zach had let all of us stay out of our pokeballs, to see Lilycove. I didn't care much about entering the city; I walked with my feet dragging and my head low.

When we arrived at Lilycove, there was a large marble sign that read: **Welcome to Lilycove City! Home of Hoenn's Pokemon Contest Hall and Museum!** I hardly cared about that; I just followed Zach and the others as he headed toward the Pokemon Center.

Inside, there were lots of trainers, either brushing, petting, or feeding their pokemon. Most of them stopped to stare at me as I followed Zach up to the counter. I ignored them.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center," Nurse Joy said cheerily. I cringed; her overly joyful voice annoyed me to no end.

"Can you heal my pokemon?" Zach asked.

"Of course," Joy answered. "Would you like them healed inside or outside their pokeballs?"

Zach glanced at me before answering. "Outside, please."

"Okay. Come on, follow me." Nurse Joy lead the way through double doors beside the counter, and down a long hallway to a room with many beds. I cringed at the memory of my dream, of being held down on the examination table.

Nurse Joy instructed us pokemon to choose a bed. Knight chose a bed beside the window with a perch; Lightning immediately jumped on what looked like a comfy bed beside Knight; Rubber chose a bed with bars on the side and lots on straps, which I thought was rather fitting; Thief took one beside Rubber; Lady took the longest one, nearest to Zach. I decided to take the one in the corner, away from the window, that was shadowed.

Zach sat in a chair beside Lady as Nurse Joy put some wires with suction cups on the pokemon. I was last.

The healing power that coursed through my body felt wonderful; so wonderful, that I forgot all about my dream. But I was immediately reminded by a loud beeping sound that came from the monitor beside my bed. Nurse Joy, who was inspecting Lady, came over to my monitor so fast that it seemed like she had teleported. Again, I was aware of Lady's eyes boring into me as Joy examined the monitor.

"Oh, my!" the nurse exclaimed.

"What is it?" Zach asked as he made his way to my bed.

"The cells in your Absol's body are chemically imbalanced. It seems as if this Absol has been through rigorous tests of some sort, although it's impossible to tell what kind of tests."

"What can we do to help Soul?" There was desperation in Zach's voice.

Nurse Joy peered at my eyes, and felt my legs. I shivered, and sighed in resignation. I went limp and let her inspect me.

"It seems as if Soul is depressed," Nurse Joy reported. Her expression became somewhat hard, with a mixture of determination. "I'm going to have to take her into intensive care." The nurse picked up a plastic device filled with a clear liquid and leaned over me. I felt a sharp pain in my foreleg, and I slipped into unconsciousness.


	5. One Question

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon! No way, no how! Do I look like I can understand Japanese?**

**a/n So... I'm back from my vacation! I'm home! I'm so happy happy happy! But I'm also so siiiiccccckkkk! Dang cold!**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This story will be about 14 chapters long, and some chapters will be realllly long, at least by my standards.**

**And for those of you who can't figure it out yet- Rubber has ADHD! I mean, he can't be more lovable without it. It's his trademark personality!**

**Okay, on with the story!**

**Chapter Five: One Question**

My mind felt groggy and sleepy. My eyes fluttered open to see a blandly tan ceiling above me. I shifted my right foreleg to a more comfortable position; it bumped into some sort of hard plastic. I lifted my head, and looked around, barely able to take in my surroundings.

I was in a hospital room; a private one, by my guess. There was only one other bed in the room. It was empty, and made up. Unlike mine, there was no medical equipment set up beside it. There was a curtain attached to the ceiling, pressed against the wall between the beds. The color of the walls was peach. There was a wooden door beside one large mirror; well, I guessed it was a mirror. I could have been one of those one-way mirrors, where I could see only my reflection but the person on the other side could see me.

It seemed as if my guess about the mirror was right. After I had finished my inspection of the room, Nurse Joy entered, with Zach following close behind. In the open doorway behind them, Rubber, Lightning, Thief, and Knight were peeking in. I wondered where Lady was, but I didn't wonder long. In a flash of purple light, she was in the room beside Zach, who was standing beside my bed.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

I stared at him._ Why should he be worried about me?_I didn't answer him; I only laid my head back down on the pillow and sighed.

Nurse Joy looked at the monitor beside my bed again. "I've never seen anything like Soul's DNA. It seems to be. . . mutated."

Zach looked up at her. "How so?"

"I'm not sure. This must have happened before you captured her. Maybe she knows what happened. If only she could tell us. . ."

Zach's face brightened. "I know how! Lady can do it with her telepathy. If she can find out what happened to Soul, she could tell us!"

I was aware of the situation about to happen, but I was still too groggy to care much. If I hadn't been like that, I probably would have upped and ran away.

"That's a good idea," Joy praised. She looked down at me. "But I don't think Soul will say anything while we're here. Pokemon recently captured are like that- they don't want to be around humans all the time."

"Okay. Then I'll go see Sara now." Zach looked at me, also. "I'll be right back, okay?" With that, Zach turned, and walked out of the room.

Lady's eyes followed him, and I saw her lips move briefly. A soft white light- only visible to the pokemons' eye- surrounded Zach. Safeguard.

Nurse Joy patted me, and left the room also, making sure that Rubber, Lightning, Thief and Knight were in my room before closing the door.

Lightning and Rubber jumped up beside me on the bed, while the other pokemon surrounded me.

Lightning leaned forward. "Soul? Can you let us help you? What happened to you?"

I looked him in the eye. "Nothing." To make myself more convincing, I added, "I don't know if anything ever happened to me!"

Lightning's left ear twitched. "You can't lie to us, Soul."

"You especially can't lie to _him,_" Thief added.

"Tell us," Knight prompted, while Rubber just stared at me, which I thought was his best attempt at concentration.

Lady said nothing.

I looked at them all. They all seemed so serious- well, Rubber as best as he could. How could I not answer them truthfully? If I didn't, they'd probably never stop annoying me. All grogginess gone, I responded.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But don't say that I never warned you. My story is a long one, filled with suffering- mine."

**Okay, cliffhanger! Oh, how I despise cliffhangers- when I'm reading the story. (grins) I'm so evil. Mwahahah- (coughhackcough) Dang stupid cold! Okay, so next chappie, all of Soul's background will be revealed! Mwahahahahahaha! (Okay, sorry, I'm obsessed with evilness today. I don't know why)**


	6. The Past

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon!**

**To ****ScytheRider,****thanks for the review. Although, about the chapter length, I have absolutely NO experience at how long each chapter should be. I just write what I need to write for that chapter. Oh, and about that "cliffhanger," I am not very good at deciding what is and what isn't considered a cliffhanger, etc. Thanks for pointing out that stuff. I'm still kinda new at this.**

**I hope you guys like this chapter! Oh, and by the way, this is based off of the Emerald storyline (although this is YEARS after), if you need to know.**

**Chapter Six: The Past**

I took a breath before I continued. I had told myself I would never tell anyone, but I guess there wasn't any other way out of this situation. I started.

"Nine years ago, I was a normal, four-year-old human girl. Well, almost normal. I can't quite remember- I can't do it anymore- but my eyes could change color, according to my mood. Not subtle changes either- they could go from blue to deep red in a blink. And my hair could change color too, only that was _very _subtle. I could only change it between a few shades of brunette. Anyways, back then, I lived with my parents. I can't remember them, though. Only my mother a little bit."

Thief interrupted me. "You can't remember your parents?!"

I had known that question would come up. I wished they hadn't asked that. Not because I was sad about it or anything. Just a waste of time. "No, I can't. It doesn't matter, either, because I can't miss what I can't remember. Now, can you let me go on?"

Thief nodded.

"Good. One night, I was sleeping, and I heard a crash. My window was broken, and three or four men in black suits were in my room. Team Rocket. In fact, the _only _Team Rocket members in Hoenn. Well, the only grunts, anyways. They gave me a shot of some sort, in the arm, and the next thing I knew, I was on a lab table. There were all sorts of tubes sticking out of my skin, and a _bunch _of Rocket scientists were all around me. Once they noticed I was awake, they gave me another shot, and I fell unconscious. I remember dreaming about my mom. I always dreamt about her. Especially in that horrid place." I shuddered.

I took another breath. "That place was absolutely horrible. They had taken me to the basement of the Weather Institute, which only one Weather scientist knew about, who also worked for Team Rocket. That place stank. Never learned why, though. Anyways, they were just starting to work on Castform, you know, the pokemon that changes with the weather? Well, to work on that, they had to have a _lot_ of Ditto. And that's where I came in.

"They had found a mutation in my DNA, which they thought was very interesting. So interesting, they wondered what would happen if they fed my blood with Ditto DNA. Bada bing, bada boom, I could shift."

"Shift?" Knight inquired.

"I forgot to tell you about that." I had to force my eyes not to roll at the lie. "Once they gave me Ditto DNA, I could shift into any pokemon, except a legendary. And then, back into my one human form."

"Ooh!" squealed Rubber. "Now, now! Do it now!"

My voice broke a little. "I can't. I don't know why, but since I became part of your team, I can't shift anymore."

"Oh." The Azumarill's tail drooped.

I continued. "The Rockets made me a shiny, to tell me apart from the other pokemon. Don't ask me how they did it," I added, noticing Knight's curious expression. "I never found out. Anyways, they had me there for five years. Five years of torture. I think they were trying to 'perfect' me before I was used in the field. As I mentioned before, I dreamt of my mother a lot. She was always there to comfort me. But over time, the dream faded."

"How did you escape?" Lightning asked.

"Team Aqua came. They blasted open the front door of the Institute, and stormed the place. One of the Rockets unchained me, agaisnt orders, wanting me to fight the Aquas. I was smarted than _that. _I shifted to a Ninjask, one of the fastest pokemon, and zoomed, straight out the front door. I never looked back."

"What did you do after you escaped?" Thief asked.

"I wandered Hoenn. I shifted into different pokemon to survive. And mostly, I was always on the watch for any Rockets. If they captured me again, I'm pretty sure I would never make it out again."

I looked away from the group, trying to hide a tear that slid down my cheek._ I won't ever go back there again. Never._

"No, Lady," Lightning suddenly said angrily. "She's not lying."

I whipped my head around at Lady. She was glaring at Lightning, her eyes shooting death beams at him.

Lightning shrugged. "No reason to use telepathy to talk here," he commented to her.

Understanding clicked in my mind. "If you think that I would hurt anything, you're wrong!" I shouted at Lady. "In fact, I never wanted to stay with you guys in the first place! You're just a bunch of freaks!"

Thief tried to interrupt me. I didn't let him. "But then again, all the wild pokemon I met shooed me away, commenting on my bad smell, and bad 'manners.' They called me a freak. So, I guess I should stay. I mean, where else would a freak stay?"

I felt something hard slap across my cheek. _Lady._

The Gardevoir glared at me. "Well, if you're so bent on staying with freaks, go back to the Rockets."

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, a Nurse Joy barged in, scolding Lady in a loud voice that I had never heard a Joy use. Joy checked my cheek, and put a bandage on it. She then shooed all the other pokemon out of the room, then shut the door behind them. Then, Nurse Joy came back over and inspected me, mumbling something about letting a dark type and a psychic type in the same room.

I sighed and layed my head back on the pillow. _Go back to the Rockets._ Lady's voice echoed in my head. But I refused to listen to it. Instead, I tried to go to sleep.

I wanted to see my mother again.

**(Gasp) Oh, my! A little bit of violence, in the form of a slap. But don't worry, that's not the only violenceish stuff in this story. Remember, there is such a thing called a Review button! It's a magical button, allowing you to review for this story. (Gasp) Isn't that special?**


	7. Human Happenings

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON!**

**In this chapter, watch as something new and unexpected happens!**

**Oh, and like in the TV series, the pokemon have more than four moves, but can only use four in battle.**

**Seven: Human Happenings**

I stared at the peach walls of the hospital room. Boring, yes. I was bored. But was there anything else to do? No. The pokemon weren't allowed to see me, and Nurse Joy was taking care of the other pokemon in the Center. The only company I'd had was when a Chansey came in with lunch. Which, ironically, was pokemon food that tasted like scrambled eggs. I wondered where _that _taste had come from*.

I tried not to let my thoughts wander too much. I didn't want to think about Lady or the other pokemon. Instead, I thought about when I was human- when I was four, to be precise. I couldn't remember much of my life back then, only that there had been lots of cameras. And film crews. I guessed that they came to film my incredible eyes, and hair. I rolled my eyes. Humans _really_ cared about their looks.

I started to thi-

_A boy, looking to be about the age of twelve, sat in the corner of a dark room. The room seemed to move, like it wasn't a room, but something like a car, but bigger. The boy was hard to see because of the darkness, but his knees were pressed against his chest, and his legs were pressed together, as if he were tied up. And his arms were behind his back, which was pressed up against the wall. The room stopped moving, and voices were heard, coming from outside. There was a grating sound, and light filled the room. . ._

The monitor showing my brain activity beeped. A Nurse Joy, a different one than the last- I identified her by her smell- dashed into the room. She studied the monitor, then looked at me. She then shined a flashlight into my eyes- which stung them a little- and put a hand on the scythe at the side of my head.

Joy-Two started to study the monitor again, and murmured a little. "Disaster Pokemon. . . vision. . ." were all I heard.

I rolled my eyes. _Well, duh it was a vision! What else was it could it be? It's not like it's gonna kill me!_

Then, Zach came into the room, followed by Joy-One, and a girl. The girl was taller than the Nurse Joys, and Zach. She was somewhat slender, and had long blond hair down to her waist. Her eyes were green, the the skin around them was red a puffy. She had been crying, and recently. She wore blue jeans, and a blue shirt with long sleeves.

Zach's blue eyes studied me. _Gosh, everyone is studying something today! What is it, Study Day? The only schools I've seen in Hoenn are Pre-K to Elementary, and a Trainer's School! It's a wonder they have enough brains to have an economic system!_Even though I had been a wild pokemon, that didn't mean I didn't go into town once in a while as a human.

Zach looked at Joy-Two. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really," Joy-Two replied. "She just had a vision. It's normal for an Absol."

Zach pulled a red device from his pocket. "Pokedex activated," said a robotic voice from the device. Zach pressed some buttons, then stopped. "Absol, the Disaster Pokemon," he recited. He read some more to himself, then pressed another button. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Soul has some good moves! She has Bite, Quick Attack, Razor Wind, Swords Dance, Iron Tail, and Shadow Ball. She could be very good in contests."

Joy-One let out and irratted sigh. "We don't have time for this, remember? Sara needs your help!"

Zach gave a oh-yeah-I-forgot look and addressed Joy-Two. "Is Soul able to leave? We have to help Sara."

Joy-Two looked confused. "What's wrong?"

The blond girl, who I assumed was Sara, stepped forward, around Zach. A tear cascaded down her cheek. And with four words, Sara made me shiver with fear. A very familiar fear.

"My brother is missing."

Immediately, my thoughts turned to the boy I had seen in my vision. Was that him? Sara's brother? If it was, could it have been a coincidence that I had a vision about him, moments before Sara had come in the room? Normally, Absols just had visions of sickness, fires, stuff like that. Hardly ever just one person. I'd had visions before I was captured, of course, when I was an Absol, about sickness, and a earthquake. I've "seen" an outbreak of malaria in Fortree, which has yet to happen, and the earthquake that took place near Mount Chimney, that took place a few years ago. Why should I be having visions about just one person? And this was the second vision of just one person! I hadn't been suspicious with Zach, but this. . . this was different.

_And why am I so scared?_

Joy-One answered Zach's question. "You should be able to leave with your Absol. Nothing seems to be wrong with her."

Joy-Two seemed more concerned about Sara. "What's his name? How long as he been missing? We need to send out an Amber Alert." **(I don't own the Amber Alert system! I'm just using it to say their missing children alert system)**

Another tear slid down Sara's cheek. "His name is Chris, he's twelve, and he's been missing for a day. He went to school yesterday, and he hasn't come back."

_Twelve?_ The boy I had seen seemed about that age. Could that really be him? Could they be the same person?

Joy-Two slid over to the phone. "Do you have any pictures?" she asked, dialing.

Sara's eyes shifted. "Nothing. . . current."

The response caught my attention. Sara was avoiding the question. Even a picture a year old could help, if he hadn't dyed his hair or something since then.

My breath caught in my throat.

What if. . . what if this boy, Chris, could do what I have long since lost the ability to do?

Could he have the mutation gene that I have? Could he change his appearance, even a little?

* * *

**Ooh! I hope that was better than my last cliffhanger. . . Anyways,**

*** That lame joke was just me trying to be funny. Scrambled eggs, Chansey. Chansey have those eggs, 'ya know.**

**Remember, click the magical Review button, and help to make this story even better!**


	8. To Tell the Truth

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON**

**I'm glad that everyone who reviewed likes the story so far.**

**A reviewer mentioned that I started Sara out as "Sarah." I'm sorry, she wasn't a big character in the beginning, and I forgot how to spell it. Just goes to show you how well of a memory I have.**

**Okay, now it starts to get interesting!**

**Eight: To Tell the Truth **

I looked up. Joy-Two was talking on the phone to an Officer Jenny, Sara beside her. Joy-One came over to me, and quickly pulled off some wires that had been stuck to my scythe, which had monitored my brain activity. Zach, Thief, Rubber, Lightning, and Knight stood off to the side, unsure of what to do. Lady just stood next to Zach, looking at me. Glaring, actually.

My mind felt hazy. The possibility that someone else had a mutation gene, like me, was. . . hard to explain. I felt somewhat excited, and worried at the same time. I'd had loved to meet Chris, to know how he put up with being different, but he wasn't truly like me. He wasn't a shifter. At least, not that I knew of. Or, not yet.

I still didn't quite know who had taken Chris. But I had a good idea who, and where they had taken him.

Once Joy-One was finished with me, I jumped off of the bed. I wobbled a little when I landed; I had been bedridden for a while. I walked over to Lady.

"Lady, I need your help."

Lady stared at me, loathing in her eyes. "What do you want?"

I glared back at her. "I want you to tell Zach what I told you and the others."

"Why should I do that?"

"Because," I retorted, "he has a right to know." I cringed inwardly at what I was about to say. "I'm his pokemon. He should know my background."

Lady eyed me, but turned to Zach. She laid a hand on his shoulder, and then, for all I know, she could have been telling him the weather. But after a few moments, Zach stared, wide-eyed, down at me.

"Are you- _were_ you, really a human?" he whispered.

I nodded, then turned and pointed with my paw toward Sara, and grunted.

Zach put on a confused look. "What's wrong?"

I looked at Lady. "Tell him that I think Chris might have a mutation gene, like I do."

Lady rolled her eyes a little, then placed her hand again on Zach's shoulder. Again, his eyes grew wide. _Mew, humans really must be slow. Well, at least the males._

"Tell him I think he might be in the Weather Institute," I added, not looking away from Zach.

Lady repeated the routine, and Zach's face tightened. "We have to go there. Now." He walked over to Sara, and spoke in a low voice to her. I listened in.

"Sara, I think I know where your brother is."

Sara immediately turned to face him. "Where?"

"The Weather Institute. My Absol saw it in a vision."

_Well, at least he's not shouting to the world that I'm a shifter._

The Officer Jenny on the phone looked toward Sara and Zach. "For your safety, you should not go there alone." Apparently, she had heard the conversation. "Wait till the Hoenn Police Force arrives."

Sara whipped around toward the phone. "But it's my brother! I can't leave him like this!" She started crying again, silver tears racing to be first to the floor.

Before I knew what was happening, Zach took out five pokeballs from his pocket, and had recalled Lady, Thief, Lightning, Rubber, and. . . me.

What I had not realised before was that being in a pokeball felt somewhat normal. Okay, so right now, I was just a red blob of light in a ball, but I still felt like _me. _I could somehow still feel my legs, neck, and tail. And I was fully conscious. Being in a pokeball is very hard to describe.

I could somehow see outside my pokeball, and into my team members' pokeballs as well. But all I could see of them was a ball of red light, with somehow familiar characteristics. Lady's light had a purple tinge; Rubber's looked rather chaotic; Thief's was a dark red, with what looked like clouds swirling in it; and Lightning's was red with yellow streaks in it, forming into random shapes. I looked around some more, toward the opening of Zach's sweater pocket. What I saw made me shiver. I saw clouds. Close-up clouds. We were flying on Knight.

I pushed myself to the farthest part of my pokeball, away from the opening in the pocket. Instead of worrying about the dizzying height (which I wondered why I was afraid of- I've flown a lot before) I thought about where we were going. The Weather Institute. I hoped to Arceus that Team Rocket wasn't there. But of course, the chances that Team Rocket- or any other organization- weren't there were slim.

After a long while, I felt us slowing down. Knight apparently swooped down to allight on the ground, making my stomach, in one way or another, lurch. I felt Zach jump down off of Knight, then reach into his pocket and grasp me and the others, pulling us out and throwing us up into the air.

I emerged from my pokeball, my light self morphing into my pokemon form of Absol. I looked up, away from the group, who were turning to Zach. It was dark, and a light drizzle of rain obscured my vision further, although of course it didn't make much difference. I tensed.

In the distance, I saw a long winding river, and beyond that, a large building. The Weather Institute.

**We're off to see the Institute, the wonderful Institute of Weather!**

**Next chapter: we finally get to see some actual action!**


	9. Infiltration

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

**NEWS FLASH: I changed my mind! This story still will be about 15 chapters long (which I'm still unsure about), but there also will be a sequel(s), 'cause I just had an inspiration about this plot line.**

**Plus, I changed my mind again. They can use more than four moves per battle.**

**Nine: "Infiltration"**

"Okay, guys, we're gonna sneak into-"

I grunted, interrupting Zach. I turned toward him, and shook my head.

Zach's eyes were filled with concern and confusion. "What is it, Soul?"

"Here," Sara said, reaching into her small blue backpack. She pulled out a small silver device, that looked like an earpiece. A translator. Sara handed it to Zach, who stuck it in his right ear. Sara pulled another translator out of her backpack and put it in her own ear.

"Zach," I said. He nodded, indicating that the device worked. "Okay," I continued, "I think that they may be holding Chris on either the top floor or in the basement. We should start out at the basement- there's a secret entrance in the back."

I turned and led the way towards the river, turning my head back only once to make sure the others were following me. They were.

Once we got to the river, I completely ignored the bridge and slid into the water, which was surprisingly warm. Rubber and Thief jumped into the water after me, swimming towards the other side. Lightning hopped on Knight, who flew low over the river. Zach and Sara held onto Lady's arms, and in a flash of purple light they were across the river.

I pumped my legs through the current, and after a few minutes I was across. I tried to pay no mind to the fact that I was last; I wasn't used to swimming as a non-water type. I led the way up the ridges toward the Institute, the others keeping pace just behind me. Part of me wanted to run all the way to Chris and save him; another part of me wanted to run away from all of this. I knew that this was going to be hard: There were bound to be tons of Rockets in there. Right now I just hoped that we would make it out alive.

Once we reached the flat ground that was level with the Institute, I led the group in a wide circle around the building towards the back. It took about ten minutes: Zach and Sara kept getting stuck in the grass and bushes. When we reached the back of the Weather Institute, there was a rusty cellar door that at first glance seemed to be just laying on the ground. Upon further inspection you could tell that it led somewhere: there was a slight dirt path that led up to it.

I turned to Zach. "Open it," I instructed. "Slowly!"

Zach gripped the handle and pulled. With a rusty creak, the door slowly revealed what was behind it: A set of stairs, leading into a dark space. Before I could lead the way down into the abyss, I noticed a soft white light around Zach. Safeguard. _Lady must be a little worried._

I walked down the stone stairs, for what seemed like an hour, but of course, it was actually only about a minute. Once I was at the bottom, I studied my surroundings.

It hadn't changed much from when I'd last been there- only there were no people down here. An examination table sat in the middle of the room; there was a large cage over in one corner, with chains inside; in another corner was a room with pokemon-proof glass walls; every inch of available wall space was filled with shelves of medical equipment- or what I had called them, Torture Devices; and lastly, there was a door in the farthest corner, leading up towards the bed area of the first floor.

I walked over to the door, looking over my shoulder once or twice to make sure that the others were following, which they were. I also cast glances toward the cage, and the corner room. Memories swirled before my eyes, of being forced to shift into different pokemon, of tests. Of torture. No living creature should go through what I did. This was why I had to get Chris out of here.

Without warning, there was a loud, rusty noise, and there was total darkness. And also total chaos. Unfamiliar voices and shuffling filled the room. Then, there was a _click,_and a light bulb turned on, revealing a group of Rocket grunts. I stared; there were five grunts, with six pokeballs each. Thirty pokemon, against six. _What an unfair advantage!_

Sara spoke. "Go, Snubbull!" In a flash of red light, the pink fairy pokemon appeared beside Rubber. _Okay, so thirty against seven. Well, that evens up the odds, doesn't it?_

The five grunts smirked, and each took two pokeballs off their belts, and tossed out there pokemon. Four Ekans appeared, two Rattata, and four Zubat. I stared. _Easy! Why was I so worried?_

I leaped toward the nearest pokemon- one of the Rattata- and Bit down hard on it's tail. It squealed, and Scratched me on the arm. I barely felt it. I let go of it, and turned around to hit it with an Iron Tail. That knocked it out. It disappeared in a flash of red light, to be replaced by another Rattata, which Thief struck with a Leaf Blade, knocking it out cold before it could do anything.

The Rocket who appeared to be in possession of all the Rattatas frowned, then took the remaining three pokeballs and threw them into the fray. They were all Rattatas. _This guy must be the grunt of the grunts!_

I dashed toward the nearest Rattata and Bit down on it's midsection. The Rattata gave no resistance; it just fainted. I felt sorry for the little creature- Team Rocket were not nice trainers. I dropped the Rattata gently on the floor. I looked up to see that Thief had dealt with all the other Rattata; the Ekans were no more, most likely thanks to Lady; but there was still one Zubat flying around. I aimed, and tossed a Shadow Ball at it. With a _plop_ it fell on the floor.

The Rockets still had pokemon left, but they obviously thought better of it. Two started running towards the door to the upper level, and the other three ran to the cellar door to the outside.

I stared at the stairs to the upper level. _Those two are going to warn the others!_ I braced myself, then shot forward toward the two Rockets. One of them turned and saw me before my Quick Attack hit, but he didn't have time to react. I knocked him over, but in doing so he grabbed my hind leg, preventing me from going after the other Rocket.

I struggled and watched as the female Rocket yanked open the stair door and dashed up the stairs, two at at time, yelling something.

Suddenly, the Rocket that had taken hold of me let go; I turned to see Rubber sitting on his chest, giving the Rocket a hard time to breathe. I smirked. But the moment of my smugness was over in about two seconds.

"Halt!"

I turned, to see four Rockets coming down from the stairway- two males, two females. On their black sleeves was red lettering: Rank: Admin. The tallest male had a 1 beside his ranking. He smirked, and seemed to be the one who had spoken.

"I know why you're here," he chastised. "You want your precious boy back. But, you'll never get him." With that, the four admins took of one pokeball off of their belts- there was only one pokeball each- and tossed them into the air.

They opened, and in a flash of red light, they revealed four different pokemon. All were muscular, and each had a severe glint in their eyes that suggested boredom, with a slight hint of rage beneath.

The pokemon were a Rhyperior, a Salamence, a Scyther, and a Houndoom.

And I was almost certain we were not going to be the first pokemon that they beat up.

**Ooh! Almost there! Must. . . write. . . more!**


	10. Loss

**DISCLAIMER: I DON NOT OWN POKEMON!**

**Okay, for the sake of the plot, please bear with me this chapter.**

**And sorry for the gorriness in this chapter. I couldn't think of any other way to show it. This is why the story is rated T**

**Ten: Loss**

I braced myself, preparing to attack the Houndoom. _Oh, Arceus, this is hopeless! Please help us!_

The lead Admin snapped his fingers.

What had been perfect stillness was now sudden movement. The Houndoom sprang at me, fangs bared for some sort of Biting attack. I spun quickly, and smashed it with an Iron Tail, sending it sprawling backwards. Then there was a blast of water from behind me, which hit the Houndoom with deadly accuracy. I turned, and nodded my thanks at Rubber, but the Azumarill had already turned to face the Scyther.

I Quick Attacked the Houndoom, which had started to get up, then I Bit it. The dark pokemon- which was probably weaker than the others- fainted.

I turned, to see the Scyther striking Rubber with a Fury Cutter attack. Each hit was a little harder than the last. And the Azumarill had already gotten some scrapes across his belly, and he was starting to tire. He couldn't keep this up much longer.

I darted over, and Bit on the Scyther's arm, just above it's right scythe. I saw it smirk. Then, I felt a sharp pain in my right side. It had struck my with it's left scythe. I backed off; my blood dripped onto the floor. _Thank Arceus that it isn't too deep,_ I thought as I quickly inspected the wound.

I looked up, to see that the Scyther wasn't battling Rubber anymore. I felt a chill run up my spine as I realised where the mantis pokemon was headed: Straight toward Zach, it's right scythe raised, looking sharp from all the Fury Cutters it had dealt Rubber. I knew that even if I used Quick Attack, I would never make it in time.

But what happened next, I will never forget, for as long as I live.

The Scyther started to swing it's arm down. Zach stood, frozen, his eyes wide. In a flash of purple light, Lady was in front of Zach, her arms spread out, trying to shield him. The Scyther swung down it's arm, slicing Lady from her left shoulder, down to her right hip. In the process, the red horn on her chest shattered. Lady crumpled to the ground, and blood spread out across the floor.

Time seemed to be in slow motion as I watched Knight swoop in, and strike the Scyther with a Wind Attack. The Scyther fainted, and fell down to the floor, about five feet away from the tragedy that was unfolding before my very eyes.

I sprinted toward Zach, and I felt as if I was running to slow. Zach had already whipped out a Super Potion from his backpack, and was spraying it on Lady's wound. Although the skin on each side of Lady's wound tried to push back together, the healing process was halted by the blood. _The blood, oh the blood._ The blood was pouring out of her body, covering the broken remains of Lady's horn on the floor.

In spite of this, Lady smiled, and looked into Zach's eyes as she spoke. "Don't worry, Zach. I'm going to a good place. I'll always watch over you." Seeming to address all of us, but still looking at Zach, she added, "Good-bye."

With that, the Gardevoir closed her eyes, and took her last breath. And she died.

_Oh, Arceus, give her a good home with you,_ I prayed.

And then I turned, to fight tooth and claw against the Rockets. One death was all we could stand. If another died tonight, surely all of us would, too.

And not because we would be outnumbered.

**Cry, I say, cry! Okay, please, no flames about Lady, please. I'm just as sad as you are (maybe sadder. I was starting to like her. And there IS something to like, deep down.)**

**Please, review. I'm getting less motivated with Lady gone. Anyways, sorry about the short chapter, this was all I needed to say in this one.**


	11. Choices

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

**Okay, back again, with. . .**

**Eleven: Choices**

I never quite understood why, but as I fought the Salamence and Rhyperior, my heart felt heavy. Lady was gone; a few days ago I might have been cheering. She was the most annoying pokemon I've ever known, but. . .

The Salamence let out a Flamethrower. I jumped, and dodged the attack. I landed, and growled. _Since when did Team Rocket get such strong pokemon?_

The Rhyperior swiped at me, and I ducked. Then, the Salamence, who had just Dragon Clawed Knight, turned toward me. My eyes widened as the Flamethrower attack rushed toward me. I braced my self, and closed my eyes, preparing for the attack.

The flames were blistering, coursing all around my body. _Ugh. . . Arceus, this hurts!_When the Salamence stopped the attack, I turned and prepared to hit the Rhyperior with an Iron Tail. I could definitely _not _deal with the Salamence.

I was just starting to turn in preparation for my attack, when the Rhyperior, who was fighting Thief, turned it's head toward me, and smirked. A sickening feeling of dread weighted my stomach as the Rhyperior turned, and jabbed me with it's left arm. I felt a sharp pain in my side, and I can remember falling to the floor, thinking, _Hammer Arm. . . it Hammer Armed me. . ._

And then there was darkness.

I don't know how long I was unconscious, but it seemed like eternity. I was floating in darkness. . . not knowing anything. I was just numb.

Finally, there was a light, off to my right- well, I think it was my right. It was faint, but it started to grow bigger and brighter, until I was out of the darkness, and into the light.

I blinked, and realised that I was on a floor. . . a glass floor. I flexed my hands- _Wait, I have hands?_ I brought my arms toward my face, and on the end of my tanned arms, were hands. Human hands. And arms.

I sat up straight on the floor, and looked down at my legs. They were comfortably covered with my favorite pilfered jeans, and I was also wearing my worn, dull green tee-shirt. I ran my hands through my brunette hair; it seemed more clean and untangled than I remembered it being.

I smiled, memories of the last week gone. I was human again. It felt so wonderful, after being a pokemon for a week nonstop. I had only ever shifted to survive; I had had nowhere to go when I escaped from the Rockets, and at the time the wild was the only place that looked welcoming in the slightest.

"Welcome!" cried out a voice behind me.

I quickly stood, and turned. I smiled. "Jirachi," I greeted. "Why are you here?" Like all pokemon, I knew that the whole 'Jirachi only comes around every thousand years' is a lie. It was intended to keep greedy humans from ruining the world. Arceus had decreed that before he had taken his slumber.

Jirachi had a small white body, with a closed eye on it. His large yellow head had what looked like blue tags on it. The wish pokemon, who was floating in the air a few feet above me, descended down to my eye level. "Melissa, you are on the brink of death."

_Melissa? Is that. . . is that my real name?_ "Death?"

"Yes." The wish pokemon's voice, usually childlike, was serious. "Even though most of the time I can give someone anything they want, you have only three choices. You can die, you can live as a wild pokemon shifter, or you can continue to live as Zach's Absol, Soul."

I was a little puzzled. "What about. . . what about my family?"

Jirachi's eyes grew sad. "You only had your parents. They died in a car crash, not too long after the Rocket's took you. It was inevitable."

I looked down at my bare feet. I expected to feel melancholy, but instead. . . I didn't feel much anything. I felt like I should feel _something,_ but I didn't.

Jirachi looked at me. "You can't stay here forever, Melissa. This is the in-between, where nothing exists but light and space." He gestured his arm, indicating where we were.

I looked up. "Time isn't here?"

Jirachi shook his head. "Time is here, but it flows slowly. You could be here a hundred years and not grown any older." Changing the subject, he went on, "Melissa, you need to answer me. No one can exist here forever."

"Why can't I be Zach's pokemon and still shift?" I inquired.

"Because," Jirachi explained, "your mutation gene is restrained when you are bound to a human by a pokeball. Humans made the pokeball to keep pokemon from running away, and to do that they had to make pokemon into light, trapped inside the pokeball. It is a rather complicated thing, Melissa. But, if you choose to live as a wild pokemon, you will not remember your life as a trainer's pokemon. Melissa, you need to make your choice now, or else you _will_ die, even if it is not your wish."

* * *

**What a twist in events. At least, I think so.**

**Anyways, please review. Reviews are awesome!**


	12. Answer and Secret

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

**Twelve: Answer and Secret**

"I don't want to die," I whispered. Of that I was sure. Of course, like all other pokemon, I'd love to die when it was my time; all pokemon revered the afterlife as the greatest gift Arceus gave to us. "I. . ."

_Wild pokemon? I. . . I don't know. . . I can't decide. . ._

I looked at Jirachi. His eyes blazed with urgency. Briefly I wondered why we should be in such a hurry; if we were in the in-between, and time was slow, why would I die? Sudden realization hit me. _I_ was here, but my body wasn't. I was here in spirit. Who knows what my body was going through right now?

"_Melissa. . ._" a voice whispered.

I looked around. Jirachi was gone, and so was in in-between. I was still human. I stood in a glade, with a single oak tree in the middle, its lower branches trailing in a small pond. Surrounding the glade on all sides were birches and beeches. The trees were tall, and mostly straight.

"Melissa." The voice was stronger. And recognizable. I turned, and came face to face with. . .

"Lady!" I exclaimed.

Lady, in death, was more gorgeous and graceful than ever. Her entire body seemed to be framed in a soft golden light. Her eyes reflected the light of what I guessed was the setting sun. They were a little wet, and they were sad. Ironically, they were filled with life.

"Melissa," she said again. "I know what you will choose. But, please, I want to ask a favor of you."

_How does she know what I will choose? _I_ don't even know!_ "W-what is it, Lady?" I asked, a little afraid of the answer.

Lady looked straight into my eyes. "Melissa, I want you to take care of Zach. And the others." A small tear cascaded down her cheek, and she smirked. "You can't leave them. They're guys, who knows what they'll do."

I blinked in puzzlement. "Why are you asking me this?" _Did she expect me to become a wild pokemon?_

"I love him," was the simple answer. Desperation started to creep in Lady's voice, first slowly, then it came full force. "Please, Melissa. Please, promise me!" She dropped to her knees, and her shoulders shook with each sob.

It pained me to see Lady cry. She was too beautiful, too graceful, it seemed wrong for her to sob. Not only that, but something stirred inside me. I knelt down beside her, and put my hand on her shoulder.

"I promise," I said. "I promise I'll stay with them. And I'll take care of Zach for as long as I can." I realized that was completely true. They were my friends, my first friends. They cared about me. Zach, Lightning, Knight, Thief, even Rubber. They were there for me.

For a few moments I sat there, next to Lady, whose sobs were slowing. I never thought that I would be doing anything like this with Lady. I still didn't quite consider her a friend, but she wasn't as bad as I originally thought. She had criticized me, true, but now I knew what she had done it for. For Zach. She didn't want him to be hurt. That had been proved many times, but I had never seen the truth till now.

We were now united in our cause to protect Zach. This was not normally a human trait; at least, not usually for a child like me. I almost rolled my eyes; I had more experiences than most adults.

I guessed this meant that I was more pokemon than human. Oddly, I felt. . . different in my human form now. Like I didn't belong in it.

Lady finally looked up at me. Her eyes were slightly red, but she had a smile spread across her face. "Thank you, Melissa."

"Your choice has been made," said a voice. I rose, and turned to see Jirachi floating a few feet away from the tree.

"Good-bye," called Lady.

I walked over to Jirachi. "My wish is to become Soul again," I said.

Jirachi's third eye opened slowly. "Good-bye, Melissa," he said. "I hope you don't have to come back here for a long time."

Before Jirachi's third eye fully opened, I felt something grasp my arm. The next second, a blinding white light enveloped my vision, and I found myself blinking my eyes open, to see a face above mine.

Zach.

_He's okay, _I thought. I realised that I was Absol now. I felt wonderful, and mentally greeted my thoughts of disaster like old friends.

I was back. And this was how I would stay.

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**NO! I can't make it longer without going into the next chapter. Dang, these chapters just keep getting shorter. I'll try to make the next chapter longer.**


	13. Ascending the Stairs

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON! Pokemon is licenced by Nintendo, which I don't own either!**

**Thirteen: Ascending the Stairs**

I looked up at Zach, and let out a small bark-like greeting to him. The worry in his eyes changed to glee, and he patted me on the head.

"Soul. . ." he whispered, his eyes once again changing, this time to distraction.

I tried to get up, but a sharp pain in my side prevented me from achieving my goal. I looked at my side, and gulped. Most of my silvery fur was torn away, and the long scratch from the Scyther was scabbing. But that was not the only thing. A huge yellow and purple bruise decorated my skin. _Stupid Rhyperior, I hope he didn't break any ribs._

Only when Zach turned away to grab a Super Potion from his bag did I realize that Lightning, Rubber, Knight, Thief, and Sara were crowded around me.

I blinked in confusion. "Where are the Rockets?"

Thief smirked. "Taken care of."

"Oh," I responded. I wondered what they did to the Rockets; I wished that I hadn't been knocked out. I'd have liked to help.

Zach turned back and sprayed the Super Potion on my bruise. The color faded, but not completely. The scab also became a little thinner, and a bit of my fur started to grow back around the edges of my injuries. Once he was done, he motioned for the others to stand back.

I stood, to find that I was only sore. _Ugh, I hope I don't have to stay any longer with Nurse Joy._ I looked at the room. We were still in the basement, and there was blood everywhere. Mostly mine and Lady's.

I walked over to the crimson pool where Lady had died. She wasn't there anymore. _Must be in the pokeball. _A few shards of her broken horn were still lying in the pool. By some sort of impulse, I lowered my head and picked one up in my teeth. The metallic taste of blood touched my tongue. I tucked my head down toward my chest, and placed the shard in a pocket of fur, deep down. That was how pokemon held items. They put them somewhere in their fur, feathers, scales.

_My item. . . I'll call it. . ._Remembering that a Gardevoir's horn helped to sense the emotions of people, I named it the Shard of Emotion.

Instantly, I could feel sadness coming from Zach, and the other pokemon. Sara felt sad too, but more than that, she was anxious. _Chris. . ._

I turned back toward Zach. "Chris still needs us!"

Zach jerked his head up, suddenly alert.

I ran toward the stairs to the next floor. Once I started to ascend them, I thought, _Mew, how could they forget? Or, were they just worried about me?_ Turning my head around, I saw Knight right behind me. "How long was I out?" I asked.

"About ten minutes," the Skarmory replied.

I pumped my legs harder. Once I got to the corner of the stairwell, I turned and continued up the rest of the stairs. The door to the next room was open.

In the next room, there was a small bed, and tons of computers and bookshelves. The room was empty of people and pokemon. I quickly located the doorway to the top, and dashed toward it.

As I climbed this set of stairs, I felt something horrible settle in my stomach. Ahead, I could sense two people. And the Shard- the _Shard­-_ seemed to sense one was scared, and another was just plain mad. Not the angry kind of mad. Mad as in wacko.

I burst through the closed door at the top of the stairs (wincing in the progress) and came to the top floor. Ahead of me, there was a large, rounded glass capsule, filled with liquid. Inside, there was a boy, his golden hair waving in the liquid. His eyes were closed, but he was shaking in obvious pain. He had a few wires of some sort on his head. And, next to the capsule, was a bald-headed man in a black lab coat, with a red R on the back.

The man turned his head, saw me, and smiled wickedly. He pressed a red button on some sort of machine behind the capsule, and the liquid, which was a green color, started to turn white, like milk. The boy was outlined against the liquid, and he seemed to be glowing. I stared, wide-eyed. He was glowing a pulsing gold, and with each pulse he grew shorter, and thinner.

"Rubber, Whirlpool!"

A large swirl of water flew past my shoulder, and hit the bald-headed man. He fell to the floor, and the water circled around him fiercely.

The rest of them were behind me. Zach pointed at the capsule, and shouted, "Knight-"

"Wait," I growled. "We can't attack while Chris is shifting. It'll hurt him." I remembered how, one time, a Poochyena tackled me when I was shifting. It had hurt a lot worse than if I hadn't, and I had been half human, half Pidgey for the fight with the Poochyena. Trust me, that fight had been very mismatched.

Zach hesitated, then lowered his hand. I dashed forward toward the capsule. The golden pulsing reminded me of something, I just couldn't quite remember. I mean, with everything that had happened in the past week, I'd be lucky just to remember what I'd had for breakfast. Anyways, each pulse from Chris was longer than the last. Finally, he was just a small, golden light. I nodded.

"Knight, Steel Wing!" cried Zach.

Knight shot forward, his right wing glowing silver. When he sliced at the capsule, for a moment all I could see was silver and gold light, then both faded, with the sound of a crash and the splashing of liquid.

* * *

**Did I spell Poochyena right? I'm too lazy to look it up.**


	14. How This Story Fades

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON!**

**Okay, sorry I haven't updated lately, guys. My laptop got a virus (don't ask) and I just remembered the other day, "Hey, my mom's got a laptop!" (I hate using the PC)**

**Sorry if this chapter sounds out of the usual voice. I get that way if I haven't updated in a while, I guess.**

**So, the chapter you have all been waiting for!**

**Fourteen: How This Tale Fades. . .**

I dashed forward, the others right behind me. We all stopped when we came to a small white lump on the floor.

"Chris!" Sara cried as she picked up the white lump- or as I should say, pokemon.

She was the only one that spoke. The rest of us were stunned.

Chris had turned into a golden-horned Ralts. **(1)**

_Is that possible?_Well, it must be, I reasoned. Chris, the golden-horned Ralts, was right in front of my eyes.

Chris hung limp in Sara's arms. Lightning came up and poked him, and Chris stirred, and opened his eyes under his green screening of hair.

"Where am I?" he said. "What's happening?"

"You're a pokemon, Chris," I told him.

He stared at me, wide-eyed. "Do I have a translator on or something? And why would I be-" he stopped short as he stared at his white arms. "What kind of pokemon am I?" he whispered.

"You're a Ralts," Sara said, tears sliding down her cheeks. "A Ralts with a golden horn."

"Ralts with a golden horn. . ." Chris repeated softly. Suddenly, he jumped out of Sara's arms and pumped his fist into the air. "Awesome! How did this happen? Can I change into other pokemon, too?"

I stared at him. "Chris, I can- could, I mean, do that to."

"Really?" he asked, his eyes eager. "Can you show me? Please?"

"I can't show you," I told him, my patience starting to run out. This kid- or should I say pokemon?- was too excited. It didn't seem natural at all. "But if you concentrate, you should be able to."

"Sweet!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna change into a Empoleon, just watch me!"

I rolled my eyes. _I'll be very surprised if he can do that, 'cause I can't change into an evolved form._

Chris closed his eyes, and tensed. After a few moments, nothing happened.

"Try changing into a human," Zach suggested.

Chris closed his eyes again, and tensed.

At that moment, I knew- yet I didn't know how I knew- that Chris would never be able to shift. I didn't know why, either.

Chris opened his eyes, still a Ralts.

Sara started sobbing, and Zach stared blankly at Chris. The other pokemon just stood there, not knowing what to do.

There was a groan from behind me. I turned, to see the bald-headed man sitting up on the floor, where he had fallen. There were puddles of water around him. He put a hand to his head.

"Ugh, what happened?" he said, utterly confused. I could tell his mind was drawing a blank when he looked at us. But, a small spark of recognition lighted his eyes when he saw Chris, plus more confusion.

"Crap, I was supposed to do something with the kid, wasn't I?"

_This guy must have hit his head really hard when he fell, _I thought. That, or this guy had some sort of multiple personality issue. The earlier most likely. **(2)**

Suddenly, we were interrupted by the sound of sirens from outside.

"Zach, get a pokeball," Sara ordered.

Zach looked at her, puzzled. "Why?"

"My family has worked hard to keep people from knowing about Chris's. . . ability. If the public finds out that he is a human turned pokemon, especially a Ralts with a gold horn, then he'll get tested on, and that's no life." Sara looked up at the standing Zach. "Get a pokeball, _now._"

Zach still was a little confused, but he unzipped his backpack and pulled out an empty pokeball. He pulled it down in front of Chris, who- I could tell by his face, and by the Shard- was thrilled.

"Does this mean I can be Zach's pokemon?" he asked Sara.

"Yes," Sara answered immediately.

I understood why she said that. If we were going to lie to the police, no one else could know what happened to Chris, which meant he was safest with us. If he went back to his family with Sara, it would be harder to keep his secret.

I just hoped Sara would be okay.

Chris eagerly pushed the button on the pokeball, and was transformed into a red light and sucked into the ball. The button pulsed red three times, then was still.

_Gotcha! _I thought sarcastically.

The bald-headed man hadn't payed attention to us. Instead, he was playing in the puddles.

* * *

Later that night, we all stood outside the Institute- in the rain- as the bald-headed man (he hadn't given out his name, saying he couldn't remember it) was taken into custody by an Officer Jenny.

A different Officer Jenny came up to us, and asked Sara and Zach if they had seen any sign of Chris. They said no, that our coming to the Institute was a waste of time. The Officer Jenny said that we could go, so Zach recalled everyone but Knight, and he and Sara rode on the armored bird back to Lilycove.

As we flew, I kept my eyes (if I did have eyes when I was a ball of light) closed. At that moment, I felt another presence, other than Zach, Sara, Chris, Lightning, Rubber, Knight, and Theif. I could see a soft golden light, and in that second I knew what I was sensing.

Lady was here, in spirit. She had come back with me when Jirachi had sent me back from the in-between. A voice flowed into my mind.

"_**I am here, Soul, but I cannot protect you all. You must keep your promise.**_"

"_**I will**," _I thought, trying my best to project my thoughts. "**_I promise, Lady. I will protect them._"**

The truth was, I had made this promise the moment I had first seen Zach. I just didn't tell myself.

* * *

**(1) There's a perfectly acceptable reason why Chris has a golden horn. I'm just not telling you yet, 'cause it'll be explained in the sequels.**

**(2) "The earlier most likely." Is that proper grammar?**

**Okay, just one last thing- the Epilogue! Then I'll get up and going on the sequels! I just need to sort out a few things on that, then BAM! sequels.**


	15. Epilogue

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! IF I DID OWN POKEMON, MISTY WOULD NOT HAVE LEFT. So ha!**

**Hope you enjoy this. It kinda leads up to the next book.**

**NOTE: Une and deux (sp?) mean one and two (respectively) in French.**

**Epilogue**

"_**Good job, Xatu Une. Keep watch, and report back to me tomorrow**__._"

"_**Will do, Boss**__._"

The owner of the first voice closed her eyes. Oh, how stressful her work was! She just hoped her plan would succeed.

"Boss?"

The Boss turned, to see the large male Absol, who was nameless, stand in the entrance to the cavern. He stared at the floor.

"_**Yes?**_**"**

"_**Oh, sorry, I forgot to use telepathy. Anyways, when would you like me to head out**__?"_

_**"Tonight, if you can. I expect you to arrive within a week. You know what to do."**_

_"__**Yes, Boss**__."_

With that, the Absol turned and dashed away, leaving the Boss alone.

She turned back, facing the blank, stone wall, and closed her eyes again.

_It's a good thing I perfected the formula, _she thought to herself. _If I hadn't, it would be such a waste of time to expose them all. . . Oh, that reminds me, I need to get back to work._

_"__**Xatu Deux, report."**__****__****__****__****__**

* * *

**_

**End of Part One**

**Okay, everyone, I'm back to work! Details for the next part will be on my profile!**

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